The Russian parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday to recognize the independence of two breakaway Georgian regions, while Russian President Dmitry Medvedev linked the Georgia conflict to tensions over another separatist region.
The EU, which has criticized Russia’s military intervention, called a special summit on the Georgia crisis. Many European countries expressed concern at the Russian parliament vote to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent.
With Russian troops still inside Georgia and tensions heightened by the arrival in a Georgian port of a US warship carrying aid, Russia’s two parliamentary chambers approved a resolution calling on Medvedev formally to recognize the two regions.
PHOTO: AFP
The Duma and Federation Council held special sessions to debate the region’s calls for recognition.
The two regions are internationally recognized as part of Georgia, where Russian troops rolled in on Aug. 8 to fight off a Georgian offensive to retake South Ossetia.
Addressing the Federation Council, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said Russia had saved his region from “genocide.”
He said there was more political and legal legitimacy to recognizing South Ossetia’s independence than there had been for Kosovo, the Serbian province that broke free with EU and US backing.
The Abkhaz separatist leader, Sergei Bagapsh, said: “Neither Abkhazia nor South Ossetia will ever again live in one state with Georgia.”
The parliament appeal was not binding and a final decision on Russian recognition rests with Medvedev.
Medvedev also warned Moldova yesterday against repeating Georgia’s mistake of trying to use force to seize back control of a breakaway region.
Russia sent peacekeepers to Moldova in the early 1990s to end a conflict between Chisinau and its breakaway Transdniestria region and is trying to mediate a deal between the two sides.
Transdniestria, one of a number of “frozen conflicts” in the territory of the former Soviet Union, mirrored the standoff in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“After the Georgian leadership lost their marbles, as they say, all the problems got worse and a military conflict erupted,” Medvedev told Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin at his Black Sea residence in Sochi.
“This is a serious warning, a warning to all,” he said. “And I believe we should handle other existing conflicts in this context.”
Medvedev, keen to limit diplomatic damage caused by the Russian operation in Georgia, made clear Moldova had no reason to worry for now.
Also yesterday, Medvedev said he was considering a number of options in ties with NATO including halting relations with the military alliance.
“We are ready to take any decision, up to halting relations altogether,” Medvedev said in Sochi during a meeting with Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin.
Moscow also signaled yesterday that it could break off some trade agreements concluded as part of negotiations to join the WTO.
“Russia intends to inform various WTO partners of its withdrawal from accords that contradict its interests,” reports quoted First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as saying at a “presidium” of top ministers.
Also See: Chilly US-Russia ties could restrict NASA’s ISS links and
Also See: What the West can do as Russia flexes its muscles once again
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS